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Reading and riding: Christmas books special

Tim Dawson, cycling columnist for the Sunday Times, runs the Cycling Books website, the most compendious review website for cycling books. He joins me in the studio to discuss the literature of cycling, from Tour de France to cycle touring. Paul Fournel reads another extract from Need for the Bike. Below is a list of the books discussed in the show. If you would like to buy them, follow the links to Amazon and Resonance FM will get a share of anything you buy, even if it’s stuff not on the list. What a nice way to help your favourite bicycling art radio station!

The ClassicsThe Rider by Tim KrabbéThe Escape Artist by Matt SeatonNeed for the Bike by Paul Fournel

Tour de FranceBad to the Bone by James WaddingtonSweat of the Gods by Benjo MassoWide-eyed and Legless: Inside the Tour De France by Jeff ConnorLe Tour: A History of the Tour De France by Geoffrey WheatcroftMy Comeback: Up Close and Personal by Lance Armstrong and Elizabeth Kreutz

Those we didn’t get time to talk aboutTomorrow We Ride by Jean BobetThe Passion of Fausto Coppi by William FotheringhamThe Noiseless Tenor by James StarrsGolden Age of Handbuilt Bikes and Competition Bikes by Jan HeineRouleur Annual 2009Fixed: Global Fixed-Gear Bike Culture by Andrew Edwards and Max Leonard

To win copies of the current issues of Rouleur and The Ride Journal, send answers to the competition questions to bikeshow-at-resonancefm-dot-com. Thanks to these fine publications for donating the prizes.

I’d like to recommend Push Yourself Just a Little Bit More by Johnny Green. I really enjoyed his alternative, fresh to the press room view, punky passion for the event and stream of consciousness descriptions.
I’ll need to dig around for a copy of Richard’s Bicycle Book, Thanks for the tips, good show.

The Byrne book is ok, although if you are not intrinsically fascinated by the author, then you might find it a bit thin. It is what it says on the cover – a diary. I got bored of him hitching up with people that he considered cool, but he didn’t tell me quite enough about to make them fascinate me. On the other hand, his cycle advocacy events, about which I only vaguely knew, sounded great and I was interested to learn more.

Great Show
My top 2 books
Agree with John the Monkey Flying Scotsman,Graeme Obree is a hugely sad but inspiring autobiography of the strong but fragile cyclist.
In search of Robert Millar, Richard Moore ,great book telling the story of one of the great climbers of the 80s ,could not put it down.

No longer in print sadly but The Penguin Book of the Bicycle by Watson & Gray is still a quality read. Was given it as a Christmas present when I was 13 or 14.. so some of the tech info is dated but the basics are still so true.

Knowing Tim (and his passion for well written cycle books) it was great to hear him on the podcast. A great show and I very much enjoyed hearing Tim’s opinions of the selected books. He has now lent me “Need For The Bike” which I had not heard of until your serialisation on the show.
P.S. Does it make a me a bad person if I listen to your show whilst driving to work? My excuse being that it fills the “cycling void” between my weekend rides.

I’d like to recommend Biki byCharlie Woods which reminded me of why cycling is so great, and got me back onto a road bike after many many years. It’s hilarious and for me nails the core of why people ride road bikes for fun.

I enjoyed Cycling Back to Happiness by Bernie Friend. He describes Northern Europe very well and the book seems to be a magnet for the curious and quirky, and refreshingly not blown out of proportion, like some irritating writers.
It’s also got a decent back story, dealing with mental health on the road. Best of all it is a book about a man who hasn’t cycled since he was a child and just decides to get on a bike for an adventure. So much better than all that sweaty training and macho Spandex. I was hoping he might have written another.